Rekindling the Fire
by GoddessMaia
Summary: Written for the Everlark Secret Santa Exchange on AO3 for socolormecurious. When the blizzard knocks the power out, Peeta is stranded at Katniss' house for the night.


**Rekindling The Fire**

The day after Christmas is always so depressing. All of the gifts are unwrapped, the cookies eaten, and the parties over. Sure there is New Year's Eve to look forward to, but nothing quite lives up to the joy and wonder of Christmas.

Prim and my mother are on their way back to California after staying with me for the past few days for the holiday. I miss them already, especially Prim. I still can't quite get used to the fact that she lives in California with mom while attending UCLA for a pre-med program.

My baby sister is almost twenty-one now, but she will always be a little girl in my heart.

The house feels so empty without my family here with me now. I live in the house I grew up in with my family. When Prim and my mom moved out to California, I got the house. They wanted me to move out there with them, but I just couldn't leave my home town.

I draw the heavy curtains back and look at the snow falling gently to the ground. It's a beautiful sight, the soft, white flakes dancing in the night air. Being next to the window gives me a chill, so I decide to make some hot chocolate and curl up next to the fireplace with a book.

I am just about to get the hot chocolate ready when I hear a knock at my front door. I have no idea who would be coming to see me without calling me first, but I figure I should answer the door anyway.

When I open the door, all of the breath leaves my lungs in an audible whooshing sound, and it isn't from the cold blast of air hitting my face. The person standing before me is someone I haven't seen in several years.

Peeta Mellark.

His blonde, wavy hair is being blown about by the wind and his face is tinged pink by the cold. He blinks his beautiful blue eyes at me and I swear that my heart stops beating for a moment.

Why can't he be ugly? Why can't he have developed some horrific, disfiguring disease since I last saw him all of those years ago? Why does he have to be at my doorstep, looking so sexy and handsome and perfect?

"Katniss?"

I snap myself out of my thoughts. "Peeta? What…what are you doing here?"

He runs his hand through his unruly locks of hair. "Can I come in? It's very cold out here."

I step aside hastily and allow him entry to my house. Peeta stomps his feet on the mat to get the snow off of his boots and follows me inside.

Once his boots are off and his coat is hung up, I offer him a seat in my living room. "Please have a seat. I was just about to make some hot chocolate if you would like some."

He takes a seat on my sofa, but his posture is stiff and uncomfortable. "Okay, thank you."

I quickly make hot chocolate for both of us and bring the steaming mugs back into the living room.

After handing Peeta his mug, I sit on the other end of the sofa and set my mug on the end table to cool off a little bit. "So, are you going to tell me why you are here?"

"I'm in town for the holidays and I wanted to see how you are doing. It's been a while…" He bites his lip and attempts a small smile.

It _has _been a while. The last time I saw Peeta was at our high school graduation, over seven years ago. I have been keeping track of what he has been up to though. I know that he graduated from college a few years ago and that he got engaged last year to some girl named Clove.

What I _don't _know is why he is here. Sure it has been quite some time since we have last spoken, but that never seemed to make him want to seek me out before.

"Yeah, I know. What's up?" I don't mean to be terse with him, but I can't help but to dredge up the old memories of our last few weeks in high school.

Peeta shifts on the sofa so that he is a bit closer to me. "I have something for you." He reaches into his pants pocket and pulls out a silver locket.

I gasp in shock at the sight of the old piece of jewelry. I have not seen that locket since the day I threw it at Peeta.

When we were seniors in high school we began dating. He was very attractive, even back then, and he was also the sweetest guy in school. We had so much fun together, going to the movies, taking mini road trips, or just hanging out at my house.

I still remember the day that he had given me the locket. It was my birthday, and incidentally, the day before our Prom. Peeta presented me with the locket, which held a picture of the two of us in it. I loved that thing, and refused to take it off for a few weeks straight.

A few days before our high school graduation, I heard a rumor that Peeta was cheating on me with some blonde bitch named Glimmer. I was heartbroken. Peeta was my first love and I couldn't believe that he would do something like that to me. When I confronted him, he denied it. We got into a huge fight which ended with me yanking off the locket and throwing it in his face.

It wasn't until a month or so later that I found out that he never did cheat on me. The damage was done at that point and he was a hundred miles away at college.

Peeta hands me the locket and I feel tears threatening to spill down my cheeks at the sight of it. I cradle it carefully in my hands and open it up to reveal the picture of the two of us that still resides inside of it.

"Thank you Peeta. I…I feel like I should apologize to you."

He scrunches his brow in confusion at me. "Why Katniss?"

"I never should have believed those stupid rumors back in high school…"

Peeta sighs and shifts closer to me so that he can place his arm gently around my shoulders. "It's okay. That's all in the past now. I just wanted to give you what is rightfully yours and see how you are doing. You are even more beautiful than ever." He slowly caresses my cheek and I shudder at the feeling that it brings.

I give him a small smile and inhale the scent of fresh bread that always seems to permeate the air around him. He is so warm and comfortable, and I want nothing more in this moment then to wrap my arms around him and bury my face against his shoulder. I can't though. It would be highly inappropriate to do that to a man who is about to get married. Instead, I sigh and retreat from his grasp.

"I…I should go." Peeta stands up abruptly and makes his way to the door.

I get up to see him out. I really don't want him to leave, but I can tell that he isn't comfortable here with me.

Peeta gets his coat on, but when I open the door for him, an icy blast of wintry air and snow hits us. The snow that was only gently falling before, has now transformed into a full-on blizzard. Peeta's car and the roads are covered in snow and ice, and I know that the snow plows won't even bother coming out here until tomorrow.

"Umm…I think you better stay here."

An emotion flickers in his blue eyes, but then he slowly shakes his head. "No, I won't intrude. I will be okay."

He goes for the door, but I shut it so he can't leave. "Peeta, listen to me. It isn't safe out there. I have a guest bedroom you can use. It's no problem to have you here."

He takes one last look through the side window at the blistering snow and wind and nods. "Okay, I appreciate it."

Peeta follows me back inside and we sit together on the sofa and talk. Seeing him again brings back the warm, fuzzy feelings that I had for him so long ago. He is just as sweet as he was in high school, but now he is even more handsome, and on his way to becoming a successful business man as well.

I am about to ask him if he would like any more hot chocolate, when the power suddenly flickers and then goes out completely.

Only the soft glow of the dying fire in the fireplace illuminates the room around us. "Oh shit, the storm must have caused a power outage."

I hear Peeta shuffling around next to me. "Do you need some help rekindling the fire?"

I know that he is talking about the actual fire, and not the metaphorical fire that used to be between us, the one that is starting to burn within me at this very moment, just from being near him. However, I can't help but to answer with the first thing that pops into my mind. "It should have never gone out in the first place."

"What are you talking about?"

I shake my head even though I know he can't see me in the darkness. "Nothing, let me go get some flashlights and we can get this fire started up again."

I find my way into the kitchen and locate two flashlights for me and Peeta. Once, the fire is rekindled, I bring down a bunch of blankets and pillows and construct a makeshift bed in front of the fire. "It's going to be too cold in the bedrooms; we will have to sleep here by the fire."

"Okay, but first we need to talk."

What on earth do we need to talk about? "Huh? Why?"

He smiles at me, a gentle smile that is so warm that it could melt all the snow lying on the ground outside in an instant. "I was hoping we could catch up a bit. What have you been up to?"

"Well, I graduated from college and now I work at BioTech searching for a cure for cancer. I'm just a lab technician, but the pay is decent enough and I love knowing that I am helping future research into cancer cures. I own the house now too. Prim and mom are now living in California so Prim can attend UCLA."

Peeta nods and smiles. "That's great Katniss. I graduated a few years back and I've been working in business."

"Oh? Do you have a job out by where you live now?"

Peeta sighs and sits down across from me on the blankets. The glow from the fire makes him look even more attractive, and I can't help but to think of how romantic this would be if he wasn't engaged to another woman. "I'm moving back here."

He's coming back? "Why? Did you get a new job? Did you find a house out here for you and your fiancée?"

He flinches and looks away for a moment. "Yes, I have a new job out here starting in January, but I haven't had a fiancée for a couple of months now."

I look at him in shock. I'm not sure, but I think my mouth must be hanging open. I quickly glance to his ring finger on his left hand. I expect to see a wedding band there, proof that he has already gotten married. His finger is bare. "What…what happened?"

Peeta shakes his head and sighs, before turning towards me and looking me straight in the eye. "I broke it off…"

"I'm so sorry."

He holds up his finger to silence me. "I'm not finished. I broke things off with Clove because I realized that I couldn't marry her…not when I'm still in love with someone else."

He is still staring straight at me, his blue-eyed gaze penetrating my very being. My heart starts to thud loudly, so loudly in my chest that I know he must hear it. He can't possibly mean me, he just can't. We haven't seen each other or spoken in years. "Peeta?"

"Yeah?" He is moving closer to me now, inch by inch. I begin to feel the warmth coming off of his body as it nears my own.

My breath hitches in my throat. "Do you mean me?"

He doesn't answer me, not with words anyway. Instead, he leans forward and gently brushes his lips against mine.

I gasp at the electric heat that flows throughout my body from the simple touch of his lips. It's just as I remember, no, it's _better_ than I remember. His hand caresses my check gently and trails down to the back of my neck to bring us closer. Our lips press together harder and for a moment, I'm in heaven.

He pulls away all too soon and gives me a shy smile, but I'm having none of that. I yank him by his collar and connect our lips once again. My sudden display of passion seems to have caught him off guard for a moment, but he quickly recovers enough to deepen our kiss.

He flicks his tongue against my lips and I part them eagerly. Our passion and desire for one another is now raging, putting the fire in front of us to shame.

My body is hot, too hot, and it isn't from the roaring fire in front of us. No, this heat is internal, sprung from the intense passion that I am feeling at this moment. I tug impatiently at Peeta's shirt, sliding my hands underneath of it to glide across his muscles before pulling it over his head. His skin is hot to the touch and I can only imagine that mine is the same.

After I rid him of his shirt, Peeta pulls back, panting heavily. "Katniss, I…"

I swear if he so much as stops this… "You what?"

"Before we go any further, I want you to know that what I said before was true, it _is _true. I'm still in love with you. I tried so many times to get over you, to forget you and what we had together, but I just couldn't let it go. I couldn't let _you _go and I sure as hell don't plan on ever letting you get away ever again."

I can't stop the huge grin that has taken over my face at his words. "I love you too Peeta, I always have."

Now it's his turn to grin. He leans over and hastily pushes my gray sweater up before removing it completely.

I'm left in a blue cotton bra, nothing sexy because I wasn't exactly expecting this. Peeta doesn't seem to mind though. His blue eyes rake over my body before he pulls me to him and crushes our lips together once more.

I am just getting started when his lips move from my own over to my ear. I feel the tip of his tongue run lightly over the outer edge before he whispers, "I want to taste every inch of your skin."

A shiver goes down my spine at his words, so full of desire and want.

I feel Peeta beginning to trail hot kisses down my neck, pausing ever so often to nip at my skin.

"Peeta…please," I moan in his ear.

"I'm kinda busy here Katniss, be patient." His lips have now moved to my chest, licking and kissing his way down to where my skin meets the fabric of my bra.

I feel my heart thudding loudly in my chest and I know that he must hear it too. But if he does, he doesn't comment on it. Instead, he slowly slips the straps of my bra down my arms and then reaches around to undo the clasp at my back.

He trails his fingers along my breast, lightly grazing my nipple and causing me to gasp at the sensation. The desire that I feel for him is consuming me and I feel myself getting wet from just the touch of his fingertips on my chest.

A moment later, I feel his warm mouth close around my left nipple. He begins to gently suckle it between his lips and I feel the flames of desire building further within me. My hands go to his hair and gently tug on the strands, causing him to moan.

I flip us over and straddle him. I let my hands graze over his muscled torso, admiring his hard body.

I lean down to kiss him, simultaneously grinding my pelvis against his. His erection presses into me and I realize that I never did get to see it back when we were dating, but from what I feel, I think I'm going to like it.

We are content with just kissing each other for a moment, but the next thing I know, I am on my back again. Peeta is hovering over me with a mischievous look on his face. "And now I finally get to fulfill one of my long time fantasies…"

I lift myself up on my elbows and look at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Just relax and let me take care of you."

I watch as his head dips down, traveling from my chest to my stomach, leaving light kisses in his wake. The slightly ticklish sensation of his lips on my sensitive skin is all most more teasing than I can handle at this point.

The button on my jeans pops open, and Peeta slides them off my body. Only my panties remain, the same blue cotton as my bra, and stained from my arousal.

Peeta's hand cups me over my panties. "You're so wet. It's seeping through your panties."

I don't know how to respond to that so I stay silent, my heavy breathing the only response he gets from me.

I feel his fingertips tracing the line of my panties, but not yet venturing underneath of them. He is teasing me and I both love him and hate him for doing it to me.

Peeta continues to tease me for another minute before finally slipping the wet fabric from my legs. I am now completely naked in front of him and I feel so exposed. I clench my thighs together, trying to hide my nakedness from him.

"Katniss, don't hide from me baby."

I look up into his deep blue eyes, so loving and passionate, and nod my head. I let my body relax and when he nudges my thighs apart, he gasps.

"You are incredibly beautiful."

I smile up at him and he leans down to give me a quick kiss.

At the first touch of his tongue against my folds, a shock of pleasure radiates throughout my body. Then, when he slowly starts to lap at my flesh, my body arches towards him and I can't help a strangled moan from escaping my lips. "Oh Peeta!"

He chuckles lightly before swiping his tongue against the sensitive nub above my sex. I feel the pleasure building up inside of me as he continues; pulling at my center and making every nerve cell in my body come alive. I am close, so close; I just need a little bit more.

And Peeta gives it to me, curving one finger inside of me as his tongue continues to tease.

The shockwaves of my release pour over me like a rainstorm, thundering from my core to every other place in my body and causing me to cry out loudly.

Peeta lays his body over mine and kisses my forehead, holding me close as I come down from ecstasy.

It takes a few moments, but when I have sufficiently recovered, I am more than ready to return the favor. I push Peeta off of me and go straight for his jeans, unbuttoning and unzipping them before he has a chance to do anything.

I practically rip the denim from his body, eager to get to him, but when I push his boxers down and wrap my hand around his length, he stops me. "Katniss, stop. I want this to last, and it certainly won't if you continue."

I remove my hand immediately. Peeta positions his body between my thighs and I know that this is it. "I…I don't have anything on me."

Bringing him closer by wrapping my legs around his hips, I whisper in his ear. "It's okay, we're covered."

He lets out an audible sigh of relief and slides into me a moment later. I moan lightly at the full feeling of him being inside of me.

Peeta just hovers over me, not moving. His hands are bracing himself on either side of my body and his eyes are clenched shut.

I urge him to move by rolling my hips upward, causing a hissing sound to escape from his lips. "Katniss…just give me a moment. Being inside of you is too much for me; it feels so good, so impossibly good. I…I just need a moment before we continue."

I whine at him and he chuckles at me softly. "Soon baby…soon."

After Peeta has a moment to 'settle' he begins to rock his hips, pulling his length in and out of me in a steady rhythm.

I wrap my legs tighter around his hips and meet him thrust for thrust. He fits so perfectly inside of me, hitting right where I need it most with every thrust.

I feel the pleasure rising low in my belly, a hot and tingling feeling that takes my breath away. Wrapping my arms around Peeta's neck, I drag him down for a kiss, sucking his lower lip into my mouth.

He groans and kisses me hard, biting my lip gently before tugging away. His hands go to gently massage my breasts next, pulling lightly on them and tracing my nipples with his fingertips. I feel my climax building up inside of me, but I need more pressure, so I trail my hand down to just above where we are joined. But before I can do anything else, Peeta swats my hand away and uses his own, circling my sensitive flesh with his fingers.

"Oh…oh…"

"Let go Katniss."

So I do, waves of white hot bliss crashing over me like a tsunami. My fingers claw into Peeta's shoulders and my back arches off of the bed.

I have no time to recover. As soon as my orgasm is through, Peeta pumps into me faster, seeking his own release. It only takes him a few more thrusts before his body tenses and I feel him spasm inside of me.

Peeta collapses on top of me, panting. When he finally catches his breath, he rolls of to the side and smiles at me. "That was…spectacular."

I giggle at him. "Spectacular? I was going to go with mind-blowing myself."

He reaches over and tucks a tendril of my hair behind me ear. "Mind-blowing works too. Seriously though, you are so beautiful, and I love you."

I give him a soft kiss on the lips and smile back at him. "I love you too."

Afterward, we cuddle together on the blankets, the fire still blazing in the fireplace, as well as in our hearts.

"I'm so glad you are moving back here."

"Me too, can we start over?"

I look at him in confusion. "Start over?"

Peeta gives me a shy smile. "Try dating again?"

I hit him playfully on the arm. "Well after what just happened between us, I think I can agree to that."

We end up talking until late into the night, catching up with one another and laughing at old jokes.

When I wake up the next morning, the power is back on and the fire has died down. Peeta's arm is wrapped around me and he is snoring softly. It is early, just past six, so I decide to sleep in for a bit longer. I cuddle myself into Peeta's arms and drift back to sleep, thinking to myself that having Peeta back was the best Christmas gift ever.

**The End**


End file.
